Lonely Children And Adolescents

From texting and social networking sites to after-school activities, young people have many opportunities to interact with one another, and yet loneliness and isolation trouble today’s youth in increasing numbers. Many children and teens report feeling lonely even in the midst of family and friends, and childhood loneliness is a prime risk factor for adult alienation. Lonely Children and Adolescents: Self-Perceptions, Social Exclusion, and Hope illuminates seldom-explored experiences of social isolation among young people as well as the frustrations of the parents and teachers who wish to help. This groundbreaking book conceptualizes loneliness not simply as the absence of social connections, but as a continuum of developmental experience, often growing out of the conflict between opposite needs: to be like one’s peers yet be one’s unique self. The author draws clear distinctions between loneliness and solitude and identifies genetic and environmental characteristics (i.e., social, psychological, familial, and educational) that can be reinforced to help children become more resilient and less isolated. In addition, therapeutic approaches are described that challenge loneliness by encouraging empowerment, resilience, and hope, from proven strategies to promising tech-based interventions. Highlights include: • Developmental perspectives on loneliness. • Schools and the role of teachers, from preschool to high school. • Peer relations (e.g., cliques, bullies, exclusion, and popularity). • Lonely children, lonely parents: models of coping. • Loneliness in the virtual world. • Prevention and intervention strategies at home, at school, in therapy. Asking its readers to rethink many of their assumptions about social competence and isolation, this volume is essential reading for researchers and professionals in clinical child, school, developmental, and educational psychology; allied education disciplines; social work; and social and personality psychology.

This book represents a comprehensive examination of loneliness in childhood and adolescence.

This book on evidence-based practice with children and adolescents focuses on best evidence regarding assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of children and adolescents with a range of emotional problems including ADHD; Bi-Polar Disorder; anxiety and depression; eating disorders; Autism; Asperger’s Syndrome; substance abuse; loneliness and social isolation; school related problems including underachievement; sexual acting out; Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders; Childhood Schizophrenia; gender issues; prolonged grief; school violence; cyber bullying; gang involvement, and a number of other problems experienced by children and adolescents. The psychosocial interventions discussed in the book provide practitioners and educators with a range of effective treatments that serve as an alternative to the use of unproven medications with unknown but potentially harmful side effects. Interesting case studies demonstrating the use of evidence-based practice with a number of common childhood disorders and integrative questions at the end of each chapter make this book uniquely helpful to graduate and undergraduate courses in social work, counseling, psychology, guidance, behavioral classroom teaching, and psychiatric nursing. Fully covers assessment, diagnosis & treatment of children and adolescents, focusing on evidence-based practices Offers detailed how-to explanation of practical evidence-based treatment techniques Cites numerous case studies and provides integrative questions at the end of each chapter Material related to diversity (including race, ethnicity, gender and social class) integrated into each chapter

All children experience occasional feelings of loneliness, sadness, and anger. However, when these feelings are so strong and so prolonged that they appear to overwhelm the child, the possibility of childhood depression must be considered. In "Lonely, Sad And Angry, authors Barbara D. Ingersoll and Sam Goldstein define depression in straightforward terms and explain how depression differs from the normal "ups and downs" of life. They describe what kinds of behaviors signal depression in children and adolescents and explain how to tell if a child or adolescent is depressed. They discuss the causes of depression and examine treatment options with an eye toward helping parents decide which treatment--medical, psychological, and environmental--might be most beneficial to a depressed youngster. Detailed information is provided about what parents and teachers can do to help depressed children at home, in school, and in the community. The book includes guidelines for what to do in a crisis situation and suggestions about where to turn for further help. Finally, the authors look to the future and offer some ideas about what lies ahead for children diagnosed with depression.

Solitude has been conceived of as both a physical and perceived separation from others. Given the current state of virtual communication permitted by technology, contemporary conceptions of solitude describe a state where an individual is removed from opportunities for social interaction. Historical views have emphasized both the good and the bad of solitude for child and adolescent development. For example, spending time alone is thought to facilitate critical developmental skills, including individuation, self-regulation, and achieving a sense of autonomy. However, there is also widespread concern that spending too much time alone will deprive children and adolescents of the critical and unique opportunities and benefits afforded peer interactions. This is one example of the paradox of solitude that illustrates the complex nature of solitude and its relations with well‐being. In addition, researchers have further proposed a model of developmental timing effects for solitude, in which non-linear variations are postulated in the implications of solitude from early childhood to emerging adulthood. Such non-linear variations reflect the myriad of factors that could serve to mediate, moderate, and complicate how solitude impacts child and adolescent well‐being.

This open access book assembles landmark studies on divorce and separation in European countries, and how this affects the life of parents and children. It focuses on four major areas of post-separation lives, namely (1) economic conditions, (2) parent-child relationships, (3) parent and child well-being, and (4) health. Through studies from several European countries, the book showcases how legal regulations and social policies influence parental and child well-being after divorce and separation. It also illustrates how social policies are interwoven with the normative fabric of a country. For example, it is shown that father-child contact after separation is more intense in those countries which have adopted policies that encourage shared parenting. Correspondingly, countries that have adopted these regulations are at the forefront of more egalitarian gender role attitudes. Apart from a strong emphasis on the legal and social policy context, the studies in this volume adopt a longitudinal perspective and situate post-separation behaviour and well-being in the life course. The longitudinal perspective opens up new avenues for research to understand how behaviour and conditions prior or at divorce and separation affect later behaviour and well-being. As such this book is of special appeal to scholars of family research as well as to anyone interested in the role of divorce and separation in Europe in the 21st century.

PARENTING NEVER ENDS. From the founders of the #1 site for parents of teens and young adults comes an essential guide for building strong relationships with your teens and preparing them to successfully launch into adulthood The high school and college years: an extended roller coaster of academics, friends, first loves, first break-ups, driver’s ed, jobs, and everything in between. Kids are constantly changing and how we parent them must change, too. But how do we stay close as a family as our lives move apart? Enter the co-founders of Grown and Flown, Lisa Heffernan and Mary Dell Harrington. In the midst of guiding their own kids through this transition, they launched what has become the largest website and online community for parents of fifteen to twenty-five year olds. Now they’ve compiled new takeaways and fresh insights from all that they’ve learned into this handy, must-have guide. Grown and Flown is a one-stop resource for parenting teenagers, leading up to—and through—high school and those first years of independence. It covers everything from the monumental (how to let your kids go) to the mundane (how to shop for a dorm room). Organized by topic—such as academics, anxiety and mental health, college life—it features a combination of stories, advice from professionals, and practical sidebars. Consider this your parenting lifeline: an easy-to-use manual that offers support and perspective. Grown and Flown is required reading for anyone looking to raise an adult with whom you have an enduring, profound connection.

Diabetic Adolescents and their Families presents an innovative approach to the study of coping with chronic illness by focusing on the developmental context in its description of a longitudinal study of families with a diabetic or a healthy adolescent. Inge Seiffge-Krenke considers perspectives of the ill adolescents, their parents, and the physicians treating them. Highlighted topics include typical stressors, individual and family coping strategies, and psychosocial consequences associated with diabetes. The author also examines the changes that occur in adolescents' self-concept and body image and analyses their relationships with parents, physicians, friends, and romantic partners as sources of support and of stress. Numerous case studies illustrate the difficulty of balancing normative development and adherence to the therapeutic regimen. Integrating clinical concerns with fundamental findings of developmental psychology, this book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the study of adolescent health psychology.